Senior Superintendents Owen Trotz and Courtney Ramsey are the new heads of the recently delinked ‘E’ and ‘F’ police divisions, respectively, the Guyana Police Force has announced.
The divisions were separated with effect from December 27, 2012, the force said in a statement. ‘E’ Division now basically comprises Linden, Kwakwani, Ituni, Aroaima and Mabura, while ‘F’ Division comprises the interior locations, it explained.
Trotz is based at Linden, while Ramsey is based at Rabbit Walk, Eve Leary.
According to the force, ‘E’ and ‘F’ divisions were merged following discussions at the Annual Police Officers’ Conference in 1992, with the consideration at that time being that the gateway to the interior was through Linden.
“However, the dynamics of ‘E&F’ Division have changed considerably since then, especially with the recent significant developmental and economic activities taking place and the concomitant shift in population,” it said.
In the light of the prevailing environment, it said the decision to separate the divisions is to allow for greater focus on the challenges in each division and the more effective utilisation of available resources.
Home Minister Clement Rohee told a forum on security on Monday that an agreement had been reached with acting Commissioner of Police Leroy Brumell to form two separate and distinct divisions.
He also said Brumell had assured him that the two divisions will be headed by two experienced senior police ranks and that adequate support staff, equipment and land and water transport will be made available to service the two divisions to ensure their smooth and effective functioning.
Rising international gold prices has led many persons to seek their fortunes in interior areas.
The gold rush has driven an increase in the populations in these areas, which has also coincided with a rise in crime, and especially armed robberies and murders. Figures from the Health Ministry released earlier this week indicated that over the past four years, the number of persons engaged in the gold mining sector in affected malarious endemic areas – and especially interior regions 1, 7, 8 and 9 –increased from 20,000 to about 130,000.
At the same time, police have said that the vast and difficult to navigate terrain of the areas has made law enforcement difficult.
